In the best year for the freight transportation industry since the Great Recession, logistics managers chalk up efficiencies that drive further U.S. economic growth. However, capacity issues persist, causing shippers to worry about rate hikes as carriers continue to be meticulous in their partnerships.

Does your organization struggle with the integration of information between your internal systems, processes and partner portals? You're not alone! Kapow Software alongside EFT has surveyed over 200 organizations regarding the importance of information access, visibility and discusses some of the major goals for supply chain and logistics organizations.

During this webcast we'll explore how supply chain execution convergence (SCEC) helps break down the barriers resulting from disparate, fragmented technology solutions allowing you to more effectively serve customers, adapt to changing business cycles, and save both money and resources.

Following a cumulative 1.8 percent decline in January and February, the March edition of the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI) was up 2.7 percent in March.

This increase marks the third time the PCI has been up in the last eight months and the 16th consecutive month it has been up on an annual basis.

The PCI, according to Ceridian and UCLA, is based on an analysis of real-time diesel fuel consumption data from over-the-road trucking and is tracked by Ceridian, a provider of electronic and stored value card payment services. The PCI data is accumulated by analyzing Ceridian’s electronic card payment data that captures the location and volume of diesel fuel being purchased by trucking companies. It is based on real-time diesel fuel purchases using a Ceridian card by over the road truckers at more than 7,000 locations across the United States.

The PCI also closely tracks the Federal Reserve’s Industrial Production data as well as GDP growth. In February, it was correct in predicting Industrial Production would be flat to even at .02 percent. And for March it expects a 0.8 percent gain in industrial production.

“The PCI growth of 3.9% for the first quarter of 2011 is a middle-of the-road number, signaling that we are not in either one of the extremes,” said Ed Leamer, chief PCI economist and director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, in a statement. “In other words, the recession is over, but we are not yet experiencing a robust recovery. This means that for the coming quarter, the PCI is expecting GDP growth close to historically normal levels of around 3% and normal increases in payroll jobs at approximately 150,000 per month. The unemployment rate is likely to hold stubbornly to its current level but could be driven down by discouraged workers dropping out of the labor force.”

The report is pegging first quarter GDP growth at 3 percent, putting it on the low range of expectations, according to Leamer.

While March’s performance essentially nullified the losses incurred during January and February, gas prices continue to steadily increase.

“These numbers reflect solid and continued economic growth in the U.S.,” said Todd Dooley, Ceridian senior vice president of finance. “This has been occurring for a year now and bodes generally well. But we are still not seeing the employment gains required—in certain sectors like housing and construction—to put people back to work.”

With the economy growing at a 3 percent GDP clip, which Dooley described as normal, he said this number matches up well with what is being forecasted for industrial production, too.

But with fuel prices steadily rising, consumers in the short-term will likely have less disposable income and buy fewer consumer-related merchandise items like clothing and groceries, which Dooley said is likely to shift consumer-buying patterns.

“This will take a while to factor into manufacturing cycles and how companies respond,” said Dooley. “The concern is if it is a long-term secular trend and consumer spending patterns really do tighten up, there will then be overcapacity for businesses which could put pressure on inventory levels and overall growth.”

About the Author

Jeff BermanGroup News Editor

Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Subscribe to Logistics Management magazine

Subscribe today. It's FREE!

Get timely insider information that you can use to better manage yourentire logistics operation.

Recent Entries

While many industry analysts contend that distribution centers near U.S. East Coast ports will see a surge of new business after the Panama Canal expansion, real estate experts say this phenomena is already underway.

A new Government Accountability Office report on the effects of changes to truck driver hours of service rules has sparked a war of words between the American Trucking Associations and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the arm of the Transportation Department that is in charge of making those rules.

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that U.S. trade with its North America Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico in May dropped 10.8 percent annually to $92.7 billion, following a 6.8 percent annual decline to $93.3 billion in April.

Rumors of transportation and logistics titan UPS acquiring Chicago-based transportation management services provider Coyote Logistics for $1.8 billion have become a reality, with UPS announcing today that the deal is now official.